Midterms...Cue Ominous Thunder

Tests put me in a fighting mood (I know I look pretty happy in the photo...but this was studying pre-midterm. Also note the beer to my right). Midterms make me downright nasty. Three of four exams are completed and each one makes me scowl a bit more. I am not a nervous test taker, nor do I get stressed out. I just get angry. And as the test progresses the angrier I become. It's rather illogical but the anger gives me focus and pushes me through the test quickly (perhaps a bit too quick). I am not a question skipper, go back and review the questions, type of test taker...it's a big day if I even double check my scantron. Get in, get it done, get out is my motto. The Caribbean of course adds its own flair to midterm week.

This morning I woke up at 6:00 am. Can't sleep. 8:00 am Anatomy II midterm. I had some morning cake with my tea and took a few calming sips as I looked out at the ocean. I'm wired. That creepy, tingly, hyper-caffeinated feeling. This is a big test. 6 credits, and chock full of meaningful details (with a healthy mix of meaningless details). I'm ready to fight for this one. I get to campus at about 7:30 am, which gives me the perfect 25 minute window to glance at some diagrams. I don't like oodles of time before a test. I'm a firm believer in the you either know it or you don't, morning of situation. But a few minutes to glance at some diagrams...nothing wrong with that. I pop my earbuds in and tune out the nervous conversations of my classmates. I'm ultra anti-social on test mornings. Mainly I don't like to listen to people talk about the course...by that point I've got the info straight in my head and listening to others talk details often gets me confused on things I thought I already knew.

Twiddling my pencil by now...8:05 and we're all packed into the hallway...where are the proctors? 8:10...time to watch the crowd through my sunglasses. I'm amazed by the number of pencils my class is sporting. Okay...having an extra might be a good idea. I give my one mechanical pencil a shake and am happy to hear the roll of extra lead inside. Glance at the girl next to me. 10 pencils!! Seriously? Girl next to her...7 pencils. Guy ahead of me 5. Honestly? I look at my one lone BIC #2 and give it a tap on the cement wall. She'll be fine. 8:15...books are away and I'm getting really ancy now...twitch, twitch. Not enough room to pace. 8:20...proctors arrive, "The test is at 9:00...didn't we get the email?" Grumbling and swear words. Proctors from test next door come out and tell us all to hush. Grrrrrrrr....not happy.

Finally at 9:15 we're herded into our classroom, stripped of our bags, hats and sunglasses by the domineering proctors and we're all poised for the green light. Dr. A gets up and in his sweet, melodic voice asks us to check our packets to make sure we have the correct number of pages..."there should be 25". Dead silence, then groans. 25 pages?!?! Yep...with 93 questions on the goat, pig and cow. I'm ready to go now, Irish blood is gaining strength. One hour later I'm the first done and the first out. Fight # 2 is over. Fight # 3 starts in a few hours. Anatomy II Lab.

I head up top to my favorite outdoor overlook on campus to have lunch...three hours until lab...might actually have to bust out the books for awhile this time. Unlike this morning, the ocean is able to calm me down. It truly is stunning...green, and turquoise turbulence. The waves can be angry for me. I feel good. Hours later the black storm clouds are heading in. Fight #3 is about to begin. I make it down to the anatomy lab a second before the seam holding the clouds together is ripped apart. Picture the worst rainstorm you've been in...now picture all the drain systems overwhelmed. Welcome to Grenada. Within a half hour cars in the parking lot are submerged up to their bumpers. Students holding their sandals and flip-flops, run past the opening my class is huddled in. Several of my classmates arrive with water streaming off them and shredded umbrellas. Quick glances into backpacks confirm that paper notes are soaked beyond reasoning. This is good...I'm really ready to fight now. We enter the A/C blasted lab and I say a quick thank you to the sky for keeping me dry. My classmate next to me chatters his teeth and shudders so hard he drops his pencil. I hand him some paper towels to dry his hair with. Good thing he's brilliant. "You may begin!" calls Dr. D and a blast of thunder rips apart the sky above us...the surgical tables rattle.

Midterms...bring it on Grenada.